McLaren F1 team not interested in selling to Audi

A while back there were some exciting rumors that Audi could potentially buy the McLaren F1 team. Personally, I was very excited about the possibility of Audi not only entering Formula 1, but also working with McLaren. While the former can still happen – since Audi and Porsche may still be in the mix to join F1 – the latter rumor seems dead.

According to a recent report from Sport Auto, “McLaren doesn’t seem to have much interest in selling right now.”

With a new fixed cost cap, independent teams are becoming increasingly attractive and McLaren believes that no additional investment is required, especially since American sports agency MSP Sports Capital bought 15 percent of the McLaren team for £ 185 million in December, 2020. MSP also wants increase its share to 33 percent. So it’s unlikely that McLaren will be sold anytime soon.

Audi e-tron Formula E racer

To be honest, that was to be expected. I wasn’t overly optimistic that McLaren would sell to Audi, if at all. It would have been a great story, but one that will never be told. However, this leaves Audi without a purchasing partner and could soon consider another team.

According to the same Sport Auto article, Porsche sees either the Red Bull or the Williams team as a potential buy-in partner. Red Bull would be much more expensive for Porsche but would give them the opportunity to win right away, while Williams would be cheaper but could take two or three years to be competitive. So does Audi just fit in with the team that Porsche doesn’t?

Either way, we sincerely hope that Audi will get into F1. It will be immensely exciting to see how one of the great motorsport brands of all time enters the highest form of motorsport. After its success at Le Mans, Audi could do just fine in F1 and it would be great to see that.

[Source: Sport Auto]